Elect To Ignore It
by Forgivethis
Summary: Annabeth is an intern for an aspriring politician dedicated to kissing up to businessmen like Poseidon Jackson, and Percy Jackson is a boy with a smile she definitely needs to stay away from. (Warning for potentially inaccurate descriptions of American politics and high levels of romantic hijinks.)
1. Chapter 1

"Councilman Harrison's office. Can I help you?" Annabeth said, before looking into the greenest pair of eyes she had ever seen.

The boy standing before Annabeth was impeccably dressed in a stiff suit and a monogrammed tie, but from the way he was standing and staring and smiling (oh god, the way he was smiling), he looked more like he belonged on the beach in nothing but a pair of swim trunks.

Annabeth mentally chastised herself. The image of the boy before her in nothing but swim trunks was not an image she needed. Wanted, maybe. But needed, most certainly not.

The boy looked at her intently, and Annabeth prayed he wouldn't notice the deep blush blooming on her face. After a few seconds of awkward, mutual staring, he cleared his throat.

"Percy Jackson, here for your 1:30 appointment," Annabeth blurted before he could say anything.

He drew his eyebrows together. "You've - you've seen me before, then?"

Annabeth felt unprotected from his gaze. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried her best to look like she was cool and collected, like she was in control. Like she was Annabeth Chase.

Even though her brain felt like it was a bundle of frayed wire, she smirked. "Your name is on the senator's calendar and your initials are on your stupid tie." She gestured towards the tie in question with a nod of her head. "Monogrammed, really? Is the amount of money in your trust fund sewn on the back?"

Percy blushed, and Annabeth tried his best not to find it sweet. Tried and failed.

"It's actually Dad's." he explained. "You know, Poseidon Jackson?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I know who Poseidon Jackson is."

Poseidon Jackson was one of the biggest players in Washington. A business mogul and the owner of the world's largest desalination, a donation from him could mean the difference between becoming a secretary or a senator.

"Of course you do," he said sheepishly. "Hard not to know." Percy coughed. "Well, I guess I'll just -" He gestured towards the chairs lined up by the wall. "wait for the councilman."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "I'm not surprised. This is a waiting room, Jackson."

"Yeah." He drops into a seat and grips the sides.

Watching his nervousness, Annabeth softened. It wasn't his fault that Annabeth felt dizzy just looking at him, it wasn't his fault that listening to his voice was like swimming in the ocean on a warm day, it wasn't his fault she needed to protect herself from getting hurt again.

She thought about Luke's face the last time she saw it, the last time she would ever see it, and shuddered.

"Hey," she said without thinking. She rarely did anything without thinking. Annabeth cursed herself under her breath. "I didn't really mean any of that stuff. I was just teasing you."

Percy's lifted his gaze from the ground in surprise. "I know that," he said. "But I still hate thinking about my dad's money. I mean, he didn't really know about me until I was twelve. I lived with my mom before then, and we didn't have a lot of cash, so money is just really -" He scrunched his nose. "I don't know, weird."

Suddenly, his head shot back up and he was blushing slightly.

"Sorry, that was probably too personal for a first meeting. You're just so - I'm usually way better at small talk," Percy assured her with a wince. "I swear I'm better than this most of the time."

Annabeth had assumed as much. After all, most of the people that came through Councilman Harrison's office could practically weaponize pleasant smiles and casual banter about world affairs.

"It's fine, it doesn't matter anyway," she said. "You came to talk to the councilman, not to charm his intern. I'm not exactly important."

Percy frowned at her. "Of course you're important."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Again, there's no need to charm the councilman's intern."

With a shake of his head, Percy went on. "I've met countless politicians and celebrities and businessmen, and I can say with certainty that you're more important than all of them," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Annabeth was stunned. Percy just called her one of the most important people in the world as if he was telling her what he ate for dinner last night. She opened her mouth to shoot back a response, but no sound came out.

Luckily, Percy didn't seem to expect one. "So how did you come to work for Councilman Harrison? You seem a little too young and female and smart to be part of typical voter demographic."

After Annabeth remembered what words were and processed his question, she snorted and looked at the life size portrait of the councilman hanging across from her. Councilman Harrison was famous for being the hero of angry old men everywhere. "I have to get some experience in Washington somehow, even if he's not exactly my ideal politician. I mean, you're only here because he dedicates almost all his time to kissing your dad's feet."

Annabeth was silently glad that he was such a brown-nose, though. Thanks to Councilman Harrison's shameless begging, she got to meet Percy Jackson, and Percy was - well, he wasn't so bad.

Annabeth glanced at Percy and noted his grimace, still embarrassed by his father's influence.

"Sorry," Annabeth said quickly. "It's not your fault. Harrison's just kind of a phony leader."

"Like the King of Ooo," Percy murmured under his breath to the floor.

"Exactly like the Kind of Ooo," Annabeth nodded in agreement.

Shocked, Percy's head shot up to gape at Annabeth. Then his face lit up with joy.

"You watch Adventure Time?" Percy asked eagerly, like Annabeth was a superhero and he had just discovered the secret identity beneath her alter-ego.

"Adventure Time, come on grab your friends…" Annabeth sung in response with a smile.

"We're going to very - distant lands," Percy half shouted. He was so delighted Annabeth almost felt like she had to look away, as if turning her eyes away from the sun.

"Now I have to know everything. What's your favorite episode? What do you think about the Ice King's story arc? Who's your favorite character?"

"'What Was Missing', phenomenally well written, Bubblegum," Annabeth replied, listing the questions with her fingers.

"Of course you like Bubblegum," Percy smiled to himself, as if remembering an inside joke. "Smart, leaderly, beautiful. You guys are almost the same person."

Blushing, Annabeth opened her mouth to protest, but Percy cut her off.

"I never would have taken you for a fan of Adventure Time," he said, beaming.

Shrugging in response, Annabeth answered, "I wouldn't have taken anyone older than seven for a fan either. And yet here we've found each other despite the odds, here we are."

"Yep," Percy echoed, smile still etched on his face. "Here we are."

A silence settled in the room, and Percy's smile faded. He was staring at Annabeth again, in a way that was almost -

"It's 1:30, I'm going to go tell Harrison you're here." Annabeth stood up and practically ran to Councilman Harrison's door.

She couldn't do this. On the chance Percy returned her feelings, she would break her heart all over again. She didn't want that.

In the reality where Percy almost certainly didn't return her feelings, she would break her heart in new ways she hadn't realized were possible. She couldn't stand that.

So she wouldn't ever let herself know how Percy felt. Put herself in a Schrodinger's cat scenario where she was both dead and alive. It was better than just being dead.

"Sir?" Annabeth called into Councilman Harrison's office.

He looked up from his laptop and frowned.

"I'm extremely busy right now," he said, gesturing to a stack of papers covered in fine print, "so I assume what you're about to say is incredibly important."

Instinctively, Annabeth's eyes flicked over to the councilman's papers.

"Katia purred in pleasure as he licked the beating vein in Jared's neck," she read. She scrunched up her face in confusion. "Sir, are you writing-"

"Well, don't read it," Councilman Harrison snapped, reaching over and covering his papers with his arms. "It's, like, really bad and I don't think you would enjoy it," he muttered.

Annabeth blinked. "I'm, uh, I'm sure it's fine, sir." She coughed. "But, anyway - Percy Jackson - he's here, if you want to meet with him."

"Oh!" Councilman Harrison seemed to light up. "Yes, bring him in, sweetheart."

Annabeth swallowed down a growl and nodded her head. "Absolutely, sir."

Once Percy was in the councilman's office, she returned to her desk, put her head in her hands, and let out an exasperated sigh.

Love was awful. Love was scientifically proven to decrease logical thought processes. Annabeth wanted to replace her heart with another brain. Annabeth wanted to turn back time and make Luke stay. Annabeth wanted to prevent herself from breaking down and crying over another broken promise.

Mostly, though, she just wanted to see Percy's smile again.


	2. Chapter 2

She remembered Luke's favorite song, for some reason. She couldn't recall the shape of his nose, or what his voice sounded like, but his favorite song seemed to be permanently stuck to her brain, like fingerprints on wet clay. Not the title, but the tune: a jaunty, upbeat jingle from an old commercial. She used to think it fit him well. Luke was always happy and lighthearted when Annabeth was around - at least, in the beginning.

Annabeth could control her feelings. She knew if she just tried hard enough, she could control her feelings. The only reason she fell in love with Luke was because she was weak, and she let herself. She let herself develop a crush, she let herself moon over him, and she let herself shatter when he left. She failed with Luke, she let him destroy her. She broke her own heart.

She promised herself it would never happen again, no matter what. If it meant creating a shield of verbal barbed wire, if it meant derailing any conversation that seemed vaguely romantic, if it meant pushing down her feelings, if it meant denying herself happiness, she promised herself she would do it.

But here she was, staring at a half completed essay, unable to get Percy's stupid face out of her mind.

She rubbed her eyes and closed her laptop. There was no way she would be able to finish anything today.

Annabeth didn't want Percy in her life, but couldn't stand the idea of just letting him walk away, either. She had forgotten that part about having a crush - that illogical, irresistible need to just be around someone, to even just sit quietly in the same room with them. All she had wanted before Percy was to push love away using any means necessary. Now she just wanted to pull it closer, draw it around her like a blanket. It was a need she couldn't let herself fulfill, but it wasn't one she could easily ignore.

She sighed. She would just have to find a way.

Annabeth was in the middle of her thoughts when Percy came storming out of Councilman Harrison's room, looking like he could summon a hurricane. Or maybe like he was the hurricane, ready to destroy anything in his path.

"Annabeth." He reached out his hand to her. "Let's leave."

Annabeth's mind went completely blank. "I - I don't...What?"

"Let's get out of here. Fly to China, take a bus to Mexico, go get some frozen yogurt. Anything, let's just get as far from here as possible."

"What is going on? You weren't supposed to leave until 2:45!"

Percy's eyes were blazing."Let's just get as far away from here as possible." His nostrils flared, and his fists were balled.

"I'm - I'm not supposed to leave until 6:00."

He looked into Annabeth's eyes, and she flinched despite her best efforts to be cool and collected. "Please, Annabeth. Come with me."

Annabeth knew it was an awful idea. It was a terrible idea. It was the dumbest idea she'd ever heard. She wanted to go with him so badly.

But she couldn't just leave, either.

She thought about it and found a compromise. "On one condition."

Given Percy's blue shirt and tie, it was unsurprising that his car was blue. What was surprising were the specific shades of blue. It was covered with tacky swirls of cornflower and azure, as if a child had tried to draw an ocean on the sides.

"Sweet ride," Annabeth said with a smirk.

"Thanks. My brother Tyson did it," Percy answered absentmindedly, sarcasm flying over his head. He still seemed dazed as his anger wore off, but mentioning his brother seemed to inspire a small, fond smile.

"So what exactly happened in there? Did Harrison read you an excerpt from his new novel?" Annabeth said, climbing into Percy's car.

The interior of the car was unexpected as well. It was far from luxurious: wires popped out of the radio, and the floor was littered with various papers and grocery bags. Annabeth thought she even caught a can of soda rolling around, which would explain the blue stain on the driver's seat.

At the mention of Councilman Harrison's name, Percy's anger came back full force.

"Do you know what he said?" Percy seethed. "He called you a catch like it was a joke. He said you could land a guy if you weren't such a prude, and all you needed was little fun, and that he would have been happy to-"

He broke off and took a deep breath. "I really hate that guy."

Annabeth couldn't help herself; she laughed. "That's it? You stormed out of the room an hour early for that?"

Percy blinked at her. This time it was his turn to be confused. "What - what are you trying to-"

"He says stuff like that all the time, it's not like he's gossiping behind my back like a sixth grader."

Percy blinked again, stunned. "And it...doesn't bother you?"

Annabeth snorted. "It bothers me a lot. I've contemplated murder several times. But it's not like I can stop it." She shrugged. "First rule of Washington is to know when to just shut your mouth."

Percy gaped at her. "That sounds like something Harrison would say."

Annabeth felt like Percy had slapped her. "I'm not - it's different!"

"Really? How so?"

Even as a child, Annabeth had wanted to do something incredible. She read the newspaper every day as a five year old, learned about carbon emissions and, and it baffled her that none of the kids around her seemed to care. Even the adults who had the power to do something were apathetic. And she knew if she just tried, if someone just gave her an opportunity, she could fix the world. It could have just been her hubris talking, but she was confident that if she didn't get a chance to even try, she would explode.

That was why she couldn't just go with Percy. She couldn't just throw away her dream, not even for someone who made her as dizzy as he did.

"Harrison just has more to gain. I have everything to lose," Annabeth found herself saying finally.

Percy seemed to ponder that for a moment. "I guess so." He smiled. "You must be really passionate about politics if you're willing to stay with Harrison."

"A little bit."

Annabeth noted with a little pleasure that just saying Harrison's name made Percy's hands tighten on the wheel. She forced herself to admit it was a little nice to have someone like Percy on her side. A little nice.

"What do you intend on doing if you make it?" Percy asked.

In an instant, Annabeth's eyes lit up, and her foot started tapping erratically. She was a moment away from bouncing up and down excitedly like a child.

"Go after the prison system first, at least decrease the recidivism rate for African American communities, if not criminals in general. Push for a carbon cap and trade system, and end congressional fundraising, which is pretty much a bipartisan issue, anyway." She was smiling delightedly, as if remembering a joke someone had told her. "I might try to put an end to shell companies, I'm not particularly sure. Maybe just put more regulations on them. Oh, and I'd definitely devote a good deal to - to -"

She stopped and cringed. As someone whose fortune came from his dad, Poseidon, and whose dad got his fortune from his dad, Kronos, Percy was maybe not the person to complain to about family fortunes.

"- tackling discriminatory laws, obviously," she finished instead.

Percy scrunched up his face. "That's not what you were going to say." He turned to look at her. "I'm not going to judge you for any opinion you have."

Annabeth coughed. "I was just going to say - you know, try to change the distribution of wealth, stuff like that."

"Oh!" Percy grinned. "Good. The wealth gap sucks."

"But - you're rich!"

Percy shrugged. "Not always, remember? We're here, by the way."

Annabeth's head jerked away from him sharply to observe her surroundings. She hadn't actually processed most of the ride. She hadn't even thought to ask where they were going. Percy was just...distracting.

They weren't anywhere special; it appeared to be an outdoor mall. Flocks of chatting shoppers walked by, colorful bags in their hands and pigeons at their feet. A string of lights connected the roofs of dozens of stores selling leather shoes and kitchenware.

Percy opened the door for Annabeth with a flourish, earning him a disdainful snort and an eyeroll. Still, Annabeth turned her face away from him to hide a blush.

"Alright, follow me," Percy proclaimed, taking Annabeth's hand.

She drew back in an instant, but not before processing the spark of electricity that ran through her nerves for a second, the warm feeling of his skin on hers. Not before processing her desire to hold on forever. For once, she cursed her brain for being so fast.

A look of hurt flashed across Percy's face before giving way to embarrassment. "God - I'm sorry, I totally wasn't thinking, I'll -"

"I can follow you just fine without holding your hand like a toddler." Annabeth snapped.

Instantly realizing her mistake, Annabeth added quickly, "What are we doing here, anyway? If we're going on a shopping spree, you have to pay for it."

Percy sighed in relief and smiled. "Didn't I say where we were going?" He stopped walking in front of colorful shack decorated with anthropomorphic fruit. "Getting some frozen yogurt."


	3. Chapter 3

"I just don't see why you ordered blueberry if you don't even like it!"

"It's a matter of principle, of my core values. You of all people should understand that!"

Annabeth pressed a hand to her mouth to hide her smile. "You know, if you really wanted to eat blue frozen yogurt, you could have asked for a sample of blueberry, ordered vanilla, and then mixed the two. At least that way you would mostly like your yogurt."

"I didn't take you for a cheater."

"Here, just-" She plucked the yogurt out of Percy's hands and gave him hers, coconut flavored. Then she took a scoop out of the blueberry and put it in Percy's cup.

"There," she declared. "You're welcome."

Raising his eyebrows, Percy asked, "Do you like blueberry?"

"It's fine."

Annabeth probably hated it more than he did. But if that was the price she had to pay for being out with Percy, she would gladly eat of gallon of blueberry frozen yogurt. The sky was cloudy, and the people at the table nearby were arguing loudly, but Annabeth couldn't be more content. Being away from Harrison was nice. Being out was nice. Being around Percy was - interesting. Her frozen yogurt may as well have been ambrosia.

"So," she said, gesturing with her spoon, "you know all about my political beliefs, but what about you?"

"What?"

"I mean, what do you believe? I promise I won't judge you unless you say you're not in favor of campaign finance reform."

Percy shook his head. "I don't really have that many."

Annabeth gasped in mock horror. "The sheep-like apathy of young people today is exactly what's bringing this country down, you know."

With a smile, Percy answered, "It's not that I don't know about anything that's going on, I just don't know what to make of it. There's just so much nuance, it's hard to make any decision."

He shrugged. "I guess that's why I'm not going to be a politician."

"So what do you want to do?"

"I'm not really sure about that either. Let me think…"

Percy ate a spoonful of yogurt and rested his chin in his hand. He stared off into the distance thoughtfully, turning his unfocused gaze on a pair of children squealing in joy. Annabeth turned her head to look at them as well. Not because she thought he was looking at them in particular, but because watching Percy's contemplative expression - his eyes bright, his head slightly tilted - was almost unbearable.

Without consciously deciding to, Annabeth's glanced at Percy. He looked like a Greek statue. He looked like a Greek god. She quickly turned away again.

"I guess maybe I'd like to do something with the ocean," he said finally. "Marine biologist, oceanographer, that kind of stuff. I wouldn't mind being a surfer, if I learn how to surf someday."

Annabeth snorted. "What are you even studying at college if you don't know what you're going to do?"

"You didn't ask me what I'm going to do, you asked me what I wanted to do," Percy said simply. "I'm studying chemical engineering."

"Oh. I'm sorry that -" Annabeth cleared her throat. "That I didn't phrase the question better."

"It's fine. You're probably going to need to phrase things better if you're going to be a politician, though. It's all about the rhetoric."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

She dug her spoon into her yogurt and cautiously tried some. She tried to hide her wince. Gods, it really was so bad.

"What's your thing with blue food, anyway?" She asked. "How do you even eat vegetables?"

"Excuse you, blue is the greatest," Percy replied, jabbing his spoon in the air for emphasis. "The ocean is blue, Cookie Monster is blue, the sky is blue-"

"Well," Annabeth interrupted, pointing to the stormy grey sky, "it's not blue right now."

Percy looked into her eyes, or perhaps at them, thinking deeply.

"I guess grey's cool too," he said finally. "But I dare you to call grey food appetizing."

"Oh, and blue food is?"

"You're eating blue food right now!"

"Yeah, and it-"

Annabeth stopped. On one hand, she hated to say she was wrong, especially when she wasn't. On the other hand, it would start a whole new conversation if she admitted she lied.

"I mean, you don't even like blueberry," she concluded lamely.

Luckily, Percy seemed to accept it. "Fine. That's fair. I just like blue food because my mom always made blue food on special occasions, for some reason. And today's kind of a special occasion. I got to meet you."

"...Percy-"

"Meeting new people is always a special occasion," he added quickly. "It doesn't happen very often, after all."

"And just because this is a special occasion, you have to eat something you hate?"

"And be disloyal to my mother's tradition? Never."

Annabeth laughed. "God, you are the exact opposite of Luke."

As soon as she said it, she froze. She shoved a mouthful of blueberry frozen yogurt in her mouth and looked away. Suddenly, she didn't mind the taste at all.

"Who's Luke?" Percy asked carefully, as if Annabeth was liable to burst into tears at any second like some toddler.

The thing is, she was.

"He's just," Annabeth forced out with as much control as possible. "He was some guy. He was my friend, and he betrayed me."

She didn't elaborate. She had no desire to ever, ever elaborate.

Percy looked like he was trying his best not to look sorry for her. He stretched out a hand, but seemed to think better of it at the last second and placed it on the back of his neck.

"That sounds awful," he said quietly.

Annabeth cringed. She really didn't want to have this conversation.

Taking a shaky breath and swallowing down her emotions, Annabeth managed a wavering smile. "It's really fine."

She tossed her empty cup into the trash and stood up abruptly. "Well, I think Harrison's going to lose his mind if I stay away any longer. Think it's time to go?"

Percy blinked. "I - I guess if you want to. Do you want to leave?"

Annabeth really, really didn't want to. "Definitely."

The walk back to the car was silent. Percy put his hands in his pockets and hummed under his breath. Annabeth realized with a wave of affection that it was the Adventure Time theme song. She crossed her arms and looked at the floor. The sidewalk was paved with grey stones. Annabeth used all her concentration to count each and every brick.

The ride back wasn't as quiet. Annabeth fell back on the headrest and stared straight ahead; Percy popped in a CD and turned the volume knob. Annabeth couldn't recognize the artist, but the melody were surprisingly melancholy. Nostalgic, even. She would have thought Percy only listened to upbeat pop music, or The Little Mermaid soundtrack.

"You know," Percy said, softer than the song wafting through the speakers, "I've would never turn my back in you."

His voice was so low, it seemed like he was talking in his sleep. Annabeth almost questioned whether or not he had said anything at all.

"I know," she said back just as quietly.

And the scary thing was, she did know. Even though they had just met, even though she barely knew anything about Percy, she knew.

When they pulled up to Councilman Harrison's building, Harrison was already standing in the parking, pacing. As soon as he caught sight of Percy's car, he dashed to his side and opened the door for him.

"Sir, I'm so sorry about anything I might have done to offend, I promise you I hold all my employees in the highest regard-"

Percy stopped his rambling with a dismissive wave. "No need, Councilman." He shook the Councilman's hand warmly and stepped out of the car. "Annabeth here has already convinced me that you would be an excellent candidate for a donation from my father. I promise you that I will recommend he seriously consider it."

Councilman Harrison was stunned. "I - I don't know what to say -"

"And I'm sorry I asked Annabeth to turn her phone off, I wanted us to have an uninterrupted conversation about your many achievements. You're a very accomplished man, sir."

Annabeth tried her best not to laugh at the expression on Harrison's face. She put her hand over her mouth just to be sure.

"Sir - I -" Harrison grabbed Percy's hand and began shaking it vigorously. "Thank you, your help will be - sincerely considered - and deeply appreciated."

Percy forced a smile. "It's quite alright, sir, but I really must be going now. I will contact you again if my father decides to take my advice. And Annabeth-" he turned towards her, smile reaching his eyes this time. "I'll see you some other time?"

Annabeth smiled back. "Yeah. See you."

As soon as Percy was gone, Harrison grabbed Annabeth's hands and cheered. "Finally, you're using power as a woman for good. I never thought I'd see the day. God, it's a good thing he was so infatuated with you. We got extremely lucky today, Annie."

Annabeth bit back her comments, but pulled her hands away. "What are you talking about?"

"What? You really expect me to believe you guys talked about business?" He waggled his eyebrows. "Anyone could see he was head over heels for you."

Harrison practically skipped back to his office, leaving Annabeth standing in the parking lot, speechless.

She stood there for what seemed like an eternity, unable to move. Unable to think.

She had her answer, she supposed. She was no longer both alive and dead. She was completely alive. Or completely dead. Annabeth wasn't sure, her thoughts were really muddled.

Love was ridiculous. Love was an illusion Love was a product of hormones and chemicals in her brain.

Annabeth thought about blueberry frozen yogurt and smiled.

She looked in the direction Percy had gone wistfully. She had left Percy leave. She promised herself she would never let someone leave again. But this time, she knew he was coming back, and maybe that was enough for her.


End file.
